Infrastructure needs to grow with new communities
I’ve found that doing my Saturday show on V2 Radio has given me the opportunity of a leisurely weekend drive! A conscious effort to take myself off the A-roads and enjoy this fantastic part of the world a lot more than I have in recent years. One thing really struck me on a recent trip from Fontwell through to Yapton – the sheer number of new developments popping up. I have to say, I like a lot of what I see. The developments seem to suit the area and have character – avoiding the ‘army barrack’ appearance of so many ‘estates’ that have appeared elsewhere.
I will confess that I took the plunge on a new build a couple of years ago.
For my growing family it meant a larger, modern, future-proofed home in a more rural location, avoiding many of the complications involved with house-buying. Having a moving date that ended up in the first week of lockdown one was not our happiest moment, though!
But is there a need for development on the scale we’re witnessing? The official answer is an unequivocal ‘yes’. Government estimates acknowledge that approximately 300,000 new houses need to be built in Britain every year to account for the shortfall in suitable housing.
That message appears to have been hammered home locally. Recently, a contentious development proposed for the outskirts of Worthing was approved on appeal, despite significant local opposition. As I read it, part of the reason for the authority’s refusal being overturned was ‘missed housing targets’.
Quite rightly, there will always be opposition. Take, for example, the recent march and 5,000-plus signature petition to fight overdevelopment of the Manhood Peninsula. The group behind those have a point – with development on the scale we are seeing, town boundaries are everexpanding. On occasion, places once known as ‘quaint villages’ are becoming ‘just another suburb’ or even a mini-town in their own right – maybe without the infrastructure to support them.
In all of this, one thing is essential. As our communities grow, the infrastructure needs to grow with them. Schools, surgeries, roads, sewage solutions – all the tools needed to help those communities function.
Developers are required to contribute financially (or in kind) via what’s known as a ‘Section 106 agreement’ with the local authority. Many will view these payments as the developer ‘buying’ planning permission. Officially, they exist to make unacceptable proposals feasible, by providing funds to upgrade, or provide new, infrastructure that mitigates the adverse effects of the development. A consideration at least, I suppose! However, it seems to me that sufficient provision or improvement of that infrastructure is often slow to appear, forgotten completely, or impossible in the first place. Do I understand that more housing is needed? Slightly begrudgingly, it’s a yes – but don’t forget the people in the (planning) process.